Landmarks Preservation Commission October 20, 2009, Designation List 420 LP-2321

HERMAN A. AND MALVINA SCHLEICHER HOUSE 11-41 123rd Street, Queens. Built c. 1857, Morris A. Gescheidt, architect.

Landmark Site: Borough of Tax Map Block 3997, lot 40.

On February 10, 2009, the Landmarks Preservation Commission held a public hearing on the proposed designation of the Schleicher House and the related Landmark site (Item No. 1). The public hearing was duly advertised in accordance with the provisions of law. Ten witnesses spoke in favor of designation, including City Councilman Tony Avella, representatives of the Historic Districts Council, the Landmarks Conservancy, the Municipal Art Society, the Poppenhusen Institute, the Queens Historical Society, and two tenants of the building. Prior to the Commission’s vote, the owner spoke in opposition to designation.

Summary The Herman A. and Malvina Schleicher House is located in College Point, in north central Queens. It stands on an unusual circular site that was created c. 1906 when the original 14-acre estate was subdivided into building lots and became part of the surrounding street grid. Morris A. Gescheidt, a German-born painter and architect, was responsible for the building’s neo-classical design. Two-and-a-half stories tall, this large red brick house has four visible facades that display elements associated with the Italianate and Second Empire styles, including a mansard roof, segmental arch windows, and quoins. Active in New York City from the late 1840s to the 1860s, Gescheidt also built a factory structure for College Point’s leading citizen, the industrialist Conrad Poppenhusen, in 1854. These developments coincided with the introduction of regular ferry service, resulting in the construction of many residences by German immigrants, particularly in the north section of the village where owners enjoyed views of the East River and Long Island Sound. Two contemporary newspapers commented on Gescheidt’s handsome design; while one writer listed it as among several “elegant residences . . . under contract” in the area, the Flushing Journal called it “another gem of a residence.” The Schleicher House was originally situated at the west end of a walled compound that incorporated out buildings and landscaped carriage paths. Though relatively little is known about the Schleicher family, census records indicate that Herman had Prussian parents and was a successful merchant, involved in the sale of dry goods, stationary, and coal. He shared the house with his wife Malvina, four children, and three servants. Following his death in 1866, the building was acquired by Kenneth G. White, who owned considerable property in the area and is often identified as an attorney and law clerk. In 1890, the house was sold to developer William K. Aston who leased it to John Jockers, a former Schleicher employee. For about a decade, Jockers operated the structure as the 11-room Grand View Hotel. Divided into apartments in 1923, there are currently seven units in the building. Despite changes, the 1857 Schleicher House has many notable characteristics; not only is it one of the oldest houses in College Point but it is one of the earliest surviving structures in New York City to feature a mansard roof. DESCRIPTION AND ANALYSIS

College Point, Queens1 The Schleicher House was constructed in 1857, during the decade when College Point was transformed from mostly meadows and farmland to a compact village of factories and homes. Located on a peninsula in north central Queens, College Point extends into the East River and adjoins Flushing Bay. It was named for St. Paul’s College, which opened in 1839. Located on the site of present-day MacNeil Park,2 the seminary lasted for less than a decade, closing in 1847. At the time, the area to the south was known as Strattonport and Flammersburg. These neighborhoods were named for businessman Eliphalet Stratton (1745-1831) who purchased 320 acres from descendents of the English merchant and slave owner William Lawrence (1622-1680) in 1789,3 and real estate developer John A. Flammer, who acquired 141 acres from the Stratton estate in 1851 and subdivided the property into 80 building lots. These villages then merged and were incorporated as College Point in 1867 or 1870. Regular ferry service between Manhattan and the village started in the 1850s and plans were soon developed to construct a paved causeway, linking the peninsula to Flushing. These transit improvements attracted a growing number of residents, from several hundred in 1853 to 2,200 in 1860. More than half were foreign born, including nearly a thousand from Germany. The rest were mainly Irish. Because the majority of early residents were originally German, College Point was sometimes referred to as the “Little Heidelberg.” Conrad Poppenhusen, the town’s best-known citizen, was born in Hamburg, Germany, in 1813.4 He immigrated to the United States in 1843, forming a partnership with H. C. Meyer in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, to produce consumer products from whale bones. When demand declined, he sought new opportunities, acquiring a license from the American inventor Charles Goodyear, who held various patents for the vulcanization of rubber. In July 1853, he toured College Point to inspect “eligible locations” for his new company and in September 1854 laid the cornerstone for the “India Rubber Comb Company,” with at least six hundred people in attendance. Among various attendees were several men who would later be associated with the Schleicher residence: M. Gescheidt, the architect; A. Schleicher, either his father, Arthur, or the owner himself; and of course, the owner of the factory, Poppenhusen – Schleicher’s neighbor and co-executor of his will.

Herman A. Schleicher (c. 1827-1866) Relatively little is known about Herman A(lvin) Schleicher. Born in New York City to Prussian immigrants in the late 1820s, documents indicate that during his brief life he lived in Manhattan, Brooklyn, and possibly Long Island. He married Malvina (born Prussia, c. 1830) in the late 1840s or early 1850s and they produced four children: Herman, Julia, Frederick, and Walter.5 Schleicher was a successful merchant who was involved in several areas of business, including the sale of hardware, stationary, and coal. In the 1860s, he was identified as: a partner in Schleicher, Walkinshaw & Co., a local importer of dry goods, a trustee of the Mercantile Insurance Company, a director of the St. Nicholas Bank on Wall Street, and a director of the Germania Fire Insurance Company. Schleicher also served with Poppenhusen on Flushing’s first board of education, starting in 1858, and was listed as one of College Point’s top ten income tax payers in 1866.6 Schleicher died suddenly at the age of 39 in July 1866 and several months later, in November 1866, his dry goods firm consigned a “valuable” collection of European and American paintings to the Leeds Art Galleries in Manhattan.7 Though it can not be confirmed, it seems likely it was Schleicher’s art collection. Irwan Von Auw and Conrad Poppenhusen, both of College Point, served as the executors of his will.8 His funeral took place in Brooklyn and he is buried in a family plot at Greenwood Cemetery, Brooklyn, beside Arthur (d. 1859), Herman (d. 1906), and Waldemar (d. 1922) Schleicher.

Morris A. Gescheidt (d. 1871) The Schleicher House was designed by the architect Morris (Moritz) Albert Gescheidt. His name appears on a rendering of the building in the collection of the Poppenhusen Institute, located in College Point. Little is known about Gescheidt, who immigrated to New York in 1837. He was probably born in Dresden and studied at the Munich Academy of Fine Arts, starting in 1831. According to the Dictionary of Artists in America, he was active as an “architectural painter” in Rome from 1834 to 1836 and may have been the artist who exhibited “views of two Italian churches” at the National Academy of Design in New York in 1838.9

Gescheidt began to practice architecture in the early 1840s, locating his office at 11 Wall Street. He built at least one additional structure in College Point, a 300- by 40-foot brick factory (1854-55) for Conrad Poppenhusen. He may also have designed Poppenhusen’s house (c. 1857, demolished after 1905) which stood within view of the Schleicher House, near 12th Avenue and College Avenue (now College Place), and incorporated similar architectural elements. In 1860-61, Gescheidt built part of a five-story brick warehouse with cast-iron details for Henry J. Meyer at 393 Greenwich Street (part of the Tribeca West Historic District, Manhattan), near N. Moore Street.10 Meyer was the son of H(einrich) C(hristian) Meyer, who employed Poppenhusen at his Williamsburg factory in the 1840s. Gescheidt lived in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, on South 3rd Street, and owned property at Castleton, Staten Island, including a “fine mansion house,” which was sold as part of a “mortgage sale” in 1871. Gescheidt died around this time and was listed in various New York State court proceedings in October 1871 as “deceased.”11

The Schleicher Estate In March 1857, Malvina Schleicher acquired 14 acres from Herman A. Funke, a business associate of Conrad Poppenhusen. The land was directly across from Funke’s own residence and adjoined properties owned by Poppenhusen and his son, H. C. Poppenhusen. Located in College Point’s exclusive north section, approximately 100 feet above sea level, residents of the area enjoyed panoramic views and summer breezes. Gescheidt may have been involved in laying out the grounds, which is known from a site plan dating from before 1866 in the collection of the Poppenhusen Institute. The house was sited near the west end of the parcel, near what is now College Point Boulevard, and was formerly known as 13th Avenue. Many houses were currently under construction in the area: three or four “elegant residences” were described as “under contract” in January 1857, and in August 1857 the Flushing Journal reported that “Joseph Stonebank has just completed an elegant mansion for Conrad Poppenhusen, Esq. and is erecting another gem of residence for Mr. Schleicher in the same section.”12 Stonebank was a successful carpenter and builder in College Point from the 1850s to 1870. He reported an income of $15,000 in 1860 and built his family a 13-room house with such conveniences as speaking tubes, gas, bells, as well as hot and cold running water.13 The Schleicher House originally stood at the end of tree-lined, semi-circular drive. The rear elevation faced east, toward a sloping, almost circular lawn, ringed by trees. South of the house stood a “back” house or privy, suggesting that at the time of construction the bathrooms were not served by running water. To the north of the house, from west to east, was planned a large vegetable garden with rows of fruit trees, a coach house and stable, a hen house, and duck yard. There were also asparagus beds and winding carriage paths that led to an oval pond at the northeast corner of the estate, near present-day 125th or 126th Street. At the center of the pond was a small island, reached by a bridge. Here stood a small “summer” pavilion and “back” house.

Design of the Schleicher House Among various houses erected in College Point during the mid-19th century, the Schleicher House is the last substantial one to survive. Landscape architect A. J. Downing, who published The Architecture of Country Houses in 1850, wrote: The villa – the country house, should above all things, manifest individuality. It should say something of the character of the family within – as much as possible of their life and history, their tastes and associations, should mould and fashion themselves upon its walls.14 Gescheidt’s stately design blends Italianate and French Second Empire Style features. Inspired by recent developments in Europe, these features, as well as the materials selected by the architect, helped distinguish the house, as well as some its neighbors, from College Point’s agrarian roots. Built of red brick, the exterior was originally covered with light-colored stucco that created the impression that it was constructed of large stone blocks. Other notable classical revival elements included paired columns, slightly arched windows, and a continuous projecting wood cornice. In the decade prior to the Civil War, such decorative treatments became defining characteristics of row houses in New York and Brooklyn, as well as in larger free-standing mansions.

Downing also observed that the “Italian style is one that expresses not wholly the spirit of country life nor of town life, but something between both, and which is mingling of both.”15 This may explain why many surviving examples of this architectural style in New York City, including the Schleicher House, were built in once-suburban areas, including: the Phelps-Stokes House (1852-53) in Murray Hill, Manhattan, the Litchfield Villa (1854-57) in Prospect Park, Brooklyn, and the Benjamin Pike House (1858) in Astoria, Queens – all designated New York City Landmarks. In contrast to Italianate houses, which often display flat or low pitch roofs, the Schleicher House was distinguished by a squat mansard punctuated by dormer windows on four sides. Perhaps the earliest surviving structure with this roof treatment in New York City, it was named for the 17th century French architect Francois Mansart who frequently used this type of construction in residential designs.16 Revived in France during the 1830s, it became particularly popular under the rule of Napoleon III (1852-70) and was a characteristic feature of the Second Empire Style. Mansard roofs generally slope inward from all sides and provide additional interior space at the attic level. Such practical solutions were also present in Germany and Austria, where roofs were “raised to a very great pitch, on the account of the great quantity of snow that falls.”17 Detlef Lienau, who studied architecture at the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris, has been credited with introducing the Second Empire Style in New York City, in his 1850-52 residence (demolished) for the French merchant Hart M. Schiff. Located on the southwest corner of Fifth Avenue and 10th Street, his brick-and-brownstone design was widely praised – it incorporated many architectural features employed by Gescheidt, including corner and wall quoins, a tiled mansard roof, and elaborately-decorated dormers.18 The Schleicher House is 2½ stories tall. Oriented toward the west, to face the setting sun, the main elevation is divided in two sections. The larger, main section was designed in a symmetrical manner, with a wide front porch reached by stairs that were flanked by wood railings and balusters. The balusters curved outward, with the steps getting wider close to the ground. The porch incorporated four pairs of Ionic columns. Directly above the stairs, Gescheidt included a rounded pediment that displayed a small medallion relief. This feature softened the façade’s rectilinear character and echoed the shape of the arched window openings. Each story was divided into three bays, including large windows on the parlor floor, pairs of arched, eight-pane windows on the second floor, and single dormers at the attic level aligned with the windows below. As completed in 1857, all of first and second floor windows probably had wood shutters and the dormers were flanked by decorative brackets. The recessed north section (left) was divided into two bays, each with eight-pane windows. This wing was likely to have contained the kitchen, and the adjoining interior space, to the rear (east), served as a dining or breakfast room. The rear façade faced east, where a sloping lawn descended to landscaped grounds. Less formal in character, this elevation has an irregular profile, with two projecting bays. Each was designed to suggest a Second Empire Style pavilion, crowned by a nearly independent mansard. As built, the original raised wood porch extended across three of the four bays. Though no 19th century photograph has been located that shows the east façade in detail, it can be assumed that the columns and fenestration resembled the west façade. Along with the nearby Poppenhusen mansion, the Schleicher House helped popularize the Second Empire Style in College Point. A photograph taken from the mansard roof of the Poppenhusen Institute in 1880 looking northeast, shows numerous buildings executed in this style, including a large number of houses.19 Today, most of these buildings have been lost or what survives has been significantly altered.

Subsequent History Following Schleicher’s death, the house was sold in 1870 to Kenneth G. White for $40,000. White, who served as a clerk in the Federal Circuit Court as well as a United States Commissioner, owned the house for less than two decades and it may be his family and friends who occupy the west porch in a circa 1872 photograph. The house was then acquired by Henry C. and Margaret Cronkright who sold it to the New York City developer William B. Aston (d. 1919) in 1892. Contemporary maps show that both White and Aston owned multiple lots in the vicinity and may have assembled these parcels with the intention to subdivide. In May 1892, it became the Grand View Hotel and Park, providing “First-class accommodations to summer boarders and private parties.”20 Ten miles from Manhattan, Sunday and summer excursionists arrived by hourly ferry, on railroads from Hunter’s Point in Long Island City, and by trolley. Famous for beer gardens,

boating facilities and scenic drives, it was estimated that on weekends the town’s population would double or triple. The hotel’s manager was John Jockers, a long-time employee of the Schleicher family. Born in Germany in 1836, he immigrated to New York City in 1853 and after a brief period working for Conrad Poppenhusen was hired by Schleicher. In the 1870 United States Census, he described himself as a gardener, and in the 1880 Census, a coachman. In later years he was also identified as the “superintendent of the residence and grounds . . . where he laid out the grounds and improved them with the assistance of a number of workmen.”21 The hotel was said to offer “eleven light and airy sleeping rooms” and “the dining accommodations are ample to meet all demands, while the service is above the average found in this vicinity.”22 What remained of the Schleicher estate was described as a “beautiful park” where guests could play lawn tennis and croquet. Jockers probably leased the house from Aston who planned to divide the property into building lots. In 1893, 100 lots were put up for sale, but few were actually sold. Some were purchased by 1896 but it was not until 1906 that the majority of lots, approximately 11 acres, were finally sold. During this period, the surrounding street grid was cut through the site, isolating the house at the center of four streets. Two years later, in 1908, the house itself appeared at auction and was described as occupying “an exactly circular plot, 110 feet in diameter, at North Fourteenth Street and Schleicher Court.”23 Ownership of the Schleicher House changed several times over the next decades. In 1910, it was described as being “occupied for years by foreigners of the poorest class and is in very bad repair.”24 In 1923 major alterations by owner A. Szczur were approved by the Queens Department of Buildings.25 These changes are likely to have involved the legal conversion of the house into multiple units, the addition of fire escapes on the east façade, and the modification of the east porch into a second entrance with stairs. A researcher for the Works Progress Administration (WPA) observed in 1938 that the house “still stands and is run as a tenement.”26 Photographs of the building, taken in 1957, show a significant loss of stucco on the exterior. Eva Rohan, the previous owner, acquired the building from Peter Stella in 1971. It was awarded a Queensmark for architectural and historical significance from the Queen Historical Society in 1997. A series of wood brackets, set below the cornice, were removed in the 1990s or possibly later. The house is currently divided into seven apartments, with about 14 tenants.

Description The Herman A. and Malvina Schleicher House is located at 11-41 123rd Street in College Point, in north central Queens. Situated on a circular parcel, this freestanding house stands at the intersection of 13th Avenue and 123rd Street, one block east of College Point Boulevard. Non-historic chain-link fencing, partially covered with vines, encloses and divides the property, which is planted with bushes and a few older trees. To the east and west, stone steps rise toward non-historic concrete paths that lead to the entrances. Two-and-a-half stories tall, this large red brick house features a raised basement and a steep mansard roof with projecting dormer windows. All of the aluminum-frame windows are non-historic. The dormers have been modified but retain their original shape and projection. The roof is covered with non-historic black shingles. From a distance, a large central brick chimney is visible. The main (west) façade faces 13th Avenue, toward College Point Boulevard. The façade is asymmetrical; the north section contains two bays, each with single windows, and the south section is divided into three bays, each with two windows. The first (parlor) floor of the south section has a large enclosed porch, reached by non- historic concrete stairs with painted pipe railings. The beed board paneling, brown wood shingles, one-over-one white metal windows and fixed clerestories are non-historic, but the brick bases with horizontal recesses, the painted Ionic composite wood columns that support the porch and flank the entrance, and the general contours appear to be historic. The arched, second-story windows share a single stone sill, and are framed by raised brickwork that rises from each end of the sill. Below the projecting cornice, the brackets have been removed, revealing rectangular recesses, painted white. The roof has three dormer windows, aligned above the paired windows. The northern edge of the west façade has brick quoins. A horizontal stone element (painted white) extends between the base of the porch and the north edge of the house. Below this element, two basement windows are visible. At the second story, the south (right) window has been filled with brick. The roof has a single window, aligned between the first and second story windows. Beneath the wood porch is the original

areaway, with basement windows, reached by brick steps on the north side. Most of the stone and brick inside the areaway is painted white. To the right of the door is an oval window. The north façade faces 123rd Street, towards 11th Avenue. Each window is framed with raised brickwork that rises from wide stone sills. The fenestration is asymmetrical, with a wide space between the center and west (right) windows. Between the center and east (left) window, a metal pipe extends up the wall and through the projecting cornice. The roof has a single dormer at center and a brick chimney stack with a recessed decorative pattern to the right (west). The east façade faces 13th Avenue, towards 124th Street. Divided into four bays, an entrance is located in the center-left bay. Reached by non-historic stairs, flanked by non-historic brick walls and wood columns, the wood entrance doors and transom are historic but the wood pediment is probably not. A raised horizontal stone element (painted white) between the basement and the first floor, originally framed a wide porch and is visible in the south and north bays. The center-left bay projects out from the main body of the house, with angled side windows. Both windows have been significantly altered: the first story is partially filled with brick and the second story is entirely enclosed with brick. The south (left) bay is served by an iron fire escape that descends from a dormer window on the roof to the second floor window and then continues down to the south façade. Along the edge of this bay is a metal pipe, painted white. The windows in the center-right bay are identical to the south bay. The north bay also projects from the main body of the house, with angled side windows. It is served by an iron fire escape that descends from the dormer window on the roof to both center and south windows on the second floor and then down to a landing set between the center and south windows on the first floor. Both of the center windows have been filled with brick. At the basement level, there is a squat, one over-one-window. The side windows are one-over-one aluminum windows. Extending the full length of the east façade is a deep areaway with windows, reached by stairs with a single iron railing along the south side. Below first story entrance is a single door to the basement, flanked by small windows, with prominent lintels and sills, and the original vertical bars. The south façade faces 123rd Street, toward 14th Avenue. The first and second floors have four window openings. A pair of windows on the second floor has been filled with brick. On the roof is a single dormer window, flanked by brick chimney stacks, decorated with arched recessed patterns. A metal pipe extends up from inside the right half of the west (left) chimney. Between the center and west (left) windows on the first floor, a gray television dish is attached to the wall. Between the base and the first story, a raised white horizontal element (probably painted stone) extends the full length of the façade. The basement has four windows, aligned with the windows above. The center pair has been filled with brick. At the west edge of the façade, a white metal pipe extends up the wall and through the projecting cornice.

Researched and written by Matthew Postal Research Department

NOTES

1 This section is based on Robert A. Hecht, A History of College Point (Poppenhusen Institute, 1976); Victor Lederer, Images of America: College Point (Arcadia/Tempus Publishing, 2004), and Mary Dierickx, The Queens Borough Public Library, Poppenhusen Branch (New York: Landmarks Preservation Commission, LP-2045, 2000). 2 MacNeil Park is named for the sculptor Hermon Atkins MacNeil, who lived in College Point. 3 Lawrence owned most of College Point, nearly 900 acres. Andries, a slave owned by William Lawrence, was “branded” in 1672. See http://www.bklyn-genealogy-info.com/Queens/history/civil1.html.

4 There are two designated New York City Landmarks in College Point and both are associated with Conrad Poppenhusen: the Poppenhusen Institute (Mundell & Teckritz, 1868-70) and the Poppenhusen Branch of the Queens Public Library (Heins & LaFarge, 1904). 5 United States Census, 1860, compiled by Robert Friedrich, Long Island Division, Queens Borough Public Library. 6 Flushing Journal, August 11, 1866; Revised Statute of the State of New York, 1858, viewed at Googlebooks.com. 7 “Auction Sales,” New York Times, November 11, 1866. 8 Austin Abbott and Benjamin Abbott, Reports of Practice Cases, Determined in the Courts of New York State (1871), 271, viewed at Googlebooks.com. 9 New-York Historical Society, Dictionary of Artists in America, 1564-1860 (Yale University Press, 1957), 255. 10 “393 Greenwich Avenue” and “Morris A. Gescheidt,” Tribeca West Historic District (Landmarks Preservation Commission, 1991), 148, 367. 11 “At Auction,” New York Times, November 13, 1871. 12 Flushing Journal, August 1, 1857, transcribed by Robert Friedrich, 1960s, History of College Point, vol 3B, 95, collection of Long Island Division, Queens Borough Public Library. 13 Gas was first supplied to College Point structures in 1866. Flushing Journal, July 1866, transcribed by Robert Friedrich, Long Island Division, Queens Borough Public Library. 14 A. J. Downing, The Architecture of Country Houses (1850, Dover Publications reprint, 1969), 262. 15 Ibid., 286. 16 Later examples in New York City that are designated landmarks include: 17 East 128th Street (1864), Manhattan; 312 East 53rd Street (1866); Manhattan, Metropolitan Savings Bank (1867) , 6 East 7th Street in Manhattan; and the Poppenhusen Insitute (1868), Queens. 17 “Roofs,” Charles James, A New and Enlarged Military Dictionary (Oxford University, 1810), viewed at Googlebooks.com. 18 For more on Lienau and the Schiff residence, see Ellen Weill Kramer, The Domestic Architecture of Detlef Lienau, a Conservative Victorian (Infinity Publishing.com, 1961/2006), 94-113. 19 For a reproduction of this image, see Lederer, 23. 20 “Grand View Hotel and Park,” in Flushing, College Point and Vicinity: Their Representative Business Men and Points of Interest (New York: Mercantile Publishing Company, 1893), 54. 21 “John Jockers,” Portrait and Biographical Record of Queens County (New York: Chapman Publishing Company, 1896), 769-70. 22 “Grand View Hotel and Park.” 23 “Old Schleicher Mansion at Auction,” New York Times, September 20, 1908. 24 Proceedings of the New York Sinking Fund Commissioners, March 13, 1910, 135, viewed at Googlebooks.com. 25 Property Profile Overview, NYC Department of Buildings, 11-41 123rd Street, Queens, ALT 63-23. 26 Works Progress Administration, Historical Collections of Borough of Queens, vol. 9 (Long Island Division, 1938), 162, 209.

FINDINGS AND DESIGNATION

On the basis of a careful consideration of the history, the architecture and other features of this building, the Landmarks Preservation Commission finds that the Herman A. and Malvina Schleicher House has a special character, special historical and aesthetic interest and value as part of the development, heritage, and cultural characteristics of New York City.

The Commission further finds that the Herman A. and Malvina Schleicher House is a freestanding 2 ½ story red brick building that incorporates neo-classical elements associated with both the Italianate and French Second Empire styles, including one of the earliest mansard roofs in New York City; that it was built during the period when this area of north central Queens became known as College Point and was being transformed from meadows and farms to a small village of private homes and commercial structures; that it was originally situated at the west end of a 14-acre walled compound that incorporated various smaller structures, gardens and landscaped carriage paths; that Herman A. Schleicher was a successful merchant who sold dry goods, stationary, and coal; that the house was designed by the German-born architect and painter Morris Gescheidt in 1857, who immigrated to New York City in the late 1830s; that during the 1890s, when the area was popular with visitors, it was operated as a hotel and was converted to an apartment building in 1923; that it sits on an unusual circular parcel that was formed when the surrounding street grid was established around 1906; and that despite alterations, particularly the stripping of the stucco rustication, it remains one of the oldest and houses in College Point and one of the earliest surviving structures in New York City to display architectural features inspired by the Second Empire Style.

Accordingly, pursuant to the provisions of Chapter 74, Section 3020 (formerly Section 534 of Chapter 21) of the Charter of the City of New York and Chapter 3 of Title 25 of the Administrative Code of the City of New York, the Landmarks Preservation Commission designates as a Landmark the Herman A. and Malvina Schleicher House at 11-41 123rd Street, Queens, as a Landmark, and designates Borough of Queens Tax Map Block 3997, Lot 40 as its Landmark Site.

Commissioners: Robert B. Tierney, Chair Pablo Vengoechera, Vice Chair Fred Bland, Steven Byrns, Diana Chapin, Joan Gerner, Margery Perlmutter, Elizabeth Ryan, Roberta Washington

Herman A. and Malvina Schleicher House 11-41 123rd Street, College Point, Queens West façade, facing toward College Point Boulevard Photographs: Christopher D. Brazee, 2009

East façade, facing 13th Avenue, toward 124th Street

Schleicher House North façade, facing 123rd Street, toward 11th Avenue

Schleicher House South façade, facing 123rd Street, toward 14th Avenue Photos: Christopher D. Brazee, 2009

Rendering of Scheicher House North elevation, possibly by Morris Gescheidt, c. 1857 Courtesy of Poppenhusen Institute

“MAP of the PLEASUREGROUND, PARK and Garden. Property of H. A. SCHLEICHER” Courtesy of Poppenhusen Insitute

Schleicher House West façade, c. 1870s Courtesy of Poppenhusen Institute

Schleicher House – east facade Photograph by John Barrington Bailey, c. 1965 Collection of Landmarks Preservation Commission

11 Avenue

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Map Legend Designated Landmark Site

14 Avenue New York City Tax Map Lots ¯ 90 * Note: Map elements may not be to scale. Feet HERMAN A. AND MALVINA SCHLEICHER HOUSE (LP-2321), 11-41 123rd Street. Borough of Queens, Tax Map Block 3997, Lot 40.

Designated: October 20, 2009

Graphic Source: New York City Department of City Planning, MapPLUTO, Edition 09v01, December 2009. Author: New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission, JM.